Running board



A ril 29, 1941. c. s. JOHNSTON 2,240,217 nmmme BOARD Filed Nov. 16, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 29, 1941. c. s. JOHNSTON RUNNING BOARD Filed Na]. 16, 1939 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Patented Apr. 29, 1941 UNITED STATES? PATENT OFFICE RUNNING BOARD Gharles- S, Johnston, Chicago, Ill; Application November 16, 1939,, Serial No.;304,865

4 Claims. (cl, 105-457) My invention relates; to runningboards and the; like for railway cars: and more particularly to metal running boards of the type. having a plurality of substantially upright longitudinally extending members, which areconnectedby a plurality of; transverse bars, the upper edges of the; members and bars affording a tread surface.

The, primary object of the, invention is toprovicle an extremely rigid running board of the character indicated wherein the component parts thereof are firmly interlocked and may be easily and quickly assembled by unskilled labor.

Features of the invention, residing. in; advantageous forms, combinations and relations of. parts, will hereinafter appear and in; the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1, is, aplan view of a portion of the roof of a railway: car illustrating my invention.

Figure 2.is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 21-2 of Figure 1.v

Figure 3 is a. plan view of the construction illustrated in. Figure 2..

Figure 4 is a sectional; View takennon. line 4-4.

of Figure 2; v V

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional: view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 61isan enlarged; side elevational' view of tional running board saddles 4 of angle shape 7 respectively having substantially vertical flanges 51 secured tothecarlines and substantially horizontal flanges 6 to which the running board is connected.

Therunning boa-rd, generally designated by the reference numeral 1 comprises a plurality of longitudinally extending members 8' and a plurality of transversely extending bars 9". Theoutermost ones of the longitudinal members which form the sides of the running board are preferably of angle shape and respectively have substantially upright portions [0 which termiminate in inwardly extending horizontal flanges ll, while the other longitudinal members which be pointed out.

. additional brackets [6 for connecting it to-the upper edges of the bars.

are laterally spaced at suitable, distances between. the angle side members; may advantageously be nothing more, than upright plates or bars. 7 V

The upper edges. of the longitudinal members are provided with a plurality oi sets. of aligned recesses 12 for receiving the transverse. bars; 9. The recesses areslightly inclined with. respect to the vertical and, while those of each. set are in! clined in the same direction, alternate sets, of recesses are preferably inclined in. opposite directions.

After the bars 9 which are initially straight and free of any offset or bent portions are positioned in the recesses, the portions of the bars intervening between the longitudinal members, are bent so as to be disposed in substantially upright positions, asindicated at l3. To prevent withdrawal of the bars from the recesses after being assembled with the longitudinal members, the depth of each, of they recesses is greater than the width of the bars so that the metal defining or bounding the upper portions of the recesses may be bentv downwardly over the Not only are the bars thus firmly secured tothe longitudinal members,

but it will be seen that the portions l3 which areo-ifset with respect to portions of the bars disposed within the recesses prevent the bars from 9 1 shifting longitudinally and in this manner begent to the upper edges of the longitudinal members and whose diameter is substantially equal to thewidth of the bars 91so that, when-the-portions I3 of thebars are bent intoupright positions, their upper edges will be disposed in substantially the sameplane as the upper edges of the longitudinal members. board is-thusprovided with a tread surface which is free of projections and is relatively smooth.

Projecting flanges l-l of the side angles of the running board and rigidly secured thereto in any suitable manner, as for example by welding, are a plurality of brackets M for respectively receiving bolts or the like 15 to rig-idly connect the running" board i to thehorizontal'fl'anges f the saddles 4. The

running board is alsopreferablyprovided with saddles adjacent the ridge of the roof, these brackets being in the form of plate members which are connected, as by welding, to the two The running inwardly from the horizontal longitudinal members disposed nearest the center line of the running board.

As it is more convenient to make the running board in a plurality of sections instead of as a single element capable of extending from one end of the car to the other, two saddles, as indicated in Figure 4, are employed at the adjoining edges of adjacent sections. In cases where the running board is secured to the car roof intermediate the ends of the sections thereof, a single saddle, such as illustrated in Figure 5, is all that is required.

Where it is desirable, as in the case of refrigerator cars, to provide the running board with lateral extensions around a hatch opening ll or the like, such extensions may be constructed in the same manner as the running board sections, differing therefrom only in size and shape. In Figure 1, the extension surrounding the hatch comprises two sections I8 and I9 respectively ,7 having the same number of longitudinal members as the running board, another section 22 having four longitudinally extending members and another section 2| having only three such members. In each of these sections, the cross bars are secured to the longitudinal members in precisely the same manner as the cross bars 9 are secured to the longitudinal members of the running board.

By reason of the method of assembly it is possible to use both for the longitudinal members 8 and the transverse members 9 stock having roughened edge surfaces so that when the parts are assembled the running board not only is provided with recesses, the edges of which form anti-slip portions, but the upper surfaces of the bars and longitudinal members are also roughened so as to produce a running board which is practically slip-proof under all conditions.

From the foregoing, it will be perceived that a simple and rugged running board or walk way has been devised in which the component parts thereof are securely interlocked and accordingly will not work loose or come apart even under the most severe and adverse service conditions.

What I claim is:

1. The improvement in metal running boards for railway car roofs consisting of a series of laterally spaced members adapted to extend longitudinally of the car roof, said members being respectively provided with substantially upright plate portions and the upper edges thereof having a plurality of inclined recesses, the recesses in each member respectively being in alignment with the recesses in the other members, the adjacent recesses in each of said members being oppositely inclined, and a plurality of transversely extending bars respectively disposed in said sets of aligned recesses, portions of said bars intervening between said membersbeing disposed in substantially upright positions, the upper edges of said intervening portions being substantially coplanar with the upper edges of said longitudinal members to form tread surfaces and the Width of the portions of the bars disposed in said recesses being less than the depth of the recesses so that the metal bounding the upper portions of the latter may be bent over the upper edges of the bars to retain said bars in fixed position.

2. The improvement in metal running boards for railway car roofs consisting of a series of laterally spaced members adapted to extend longitudinally of the car roof, said members being respectively provided with substantially upright plate portions, the upper edges of said members having a plurality of sets of aligned inclined recesses, the adjacent sets of said recesses being oppositely inclined, and a transversely extending bar seated in each set of aligned recesses in said members, the upper ends of said recesses being bent over said bars, portions of the bars intervening between said plate portions being bent into substantially upright positions, each of said recesses having its bottom edge located on the circumference of a circle which is tangent to the plane passing through the upper edges of said plate portions and whose diameter is equal to the width of the bars so that after said portions of the bars are bent into upright positions the upper edges thereof will be disposed in the same plane as the upper edges of said plate portions to form tread surfaces.

3. The improvement in metal running boards for railway car roofs consisting of a series of laterally spaced members adapted to extend longitudinally of the car roof, said members being respectively provided with substantially upright plate portions and the outermost ones of said members being of angular shape in cross section, the upper edge of the plate portion of each of said members being provided with a plurality of sets of vertically inclined recesses, the recesses of each set being aligned with respect to like sets in the other of said members the recesses of adjacent sets being oppositely inclined, a plurality of transversely extending bars each respectively disposed in one of said sets of aligned recesses, portions of the bars intervening between said members being disposed in substantially upright positions, the upper edges of said portions being in the same plane as the upper edges of said members to form tread surfaces, and means rigid with each of said angularly shaped members for attaching the running board to the said roof.

4. The improvement in metal running boards for railway car roofs consisting of a pair of laterally spaced members angularly shaped in cross section adapted to extend longitudinally of the car roof, a plurality of platelike members interposed between said angularly shaped members extending substantially parallel therewith, the upper edges of all of said members being provided with a plurality of sets of aligned inclined recesses, the adjacent sets of said recesses being oppositely inclined, a plurality of bars ex tending transversely of all of said members and each respectively disposed in one of said sets of aligned recesses, portions of said bars extending between said members being substantially upright and the upper edges thereof being disposed in substantially the same plane as the upper edges of said members to form tread sur faces, means rigidly secured to the two intermediate plate members for connecting the central portion of the running board to said roof and brackets secured to said angularly shaped members, said brackets serving to connect the side portions of the running board to the said roof.

CHARLES S, JOHNSTON. 

